The pool in a condo atop one of Boston’s newest residential towers would be unusual enough even if it didn’t have a retractable roof and a window beneath it allowing swimmers to gaze through their goggles into the downstairs kitchen.
These are some of the special things that come with a home priced just below $50 million. If someone buys the unit on the 22nd floor of the St. Regis Residences, it will be the most expensive home ever sold in Massachusetts, according to listing agent George Sarkis of Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
“There’s nothing like it in the city,” Sarkis told Homes.com.
The two-story, 10,000-square-foot grand penthouse looks out on Boston Harbor and toward the downtown skyline from the Seaport district that was largely an industrial area until recent decades. The area’s waterfront access has made it coveted real estate, with a growing number of restaurants and other amenities to serve residents.
“You get a lot of international buyers and a lot who want to be on the waterfront,” said Sarkis. “Everything you could ever want is within 100 feet. In the winter they have ice rinks, in the summer they have beer gardens. You have access to private boats. It’s a playground for adults.”
Locally based Cronin Development built the tower with the architecture firm Elkus Manfredi that took inspiration from the maritime location and designed the St. Regis in 2022 to evoke sails on a ship. The St. Regis name is borrowed from a high-end hotel chain; condo owners have access to hotel-style amenities such as butler service.
When the building was completed, the developer bought the penthouse unit as a shell for $23 million. The company has since finished the condo with help from Manfredi and Sousa Design, Sarkis said.
The condo’s highlights, apart from the pool, include a great room with ceilings that exceed 20 feet in height, floor-to-ceiling windows, a curved staircase with glass railings, and an Italian marble radial inlay floor. The retractable roof above the second-floor pool is also glass. There are six bedrooms on the lower floor and eight full bathrooms. There’s also more than 1,000 square feet of outdoor space, including two balconies and a terrace.
Sarkis said he isn’t sure what led the design team to cut a hole in the bottom of the pool for a window over the kitchen. He said the developer’s vision for the overall condo design was for it to be “different.”
If there’s a downside to this condo, it’s just that there won’t be 100 potential buyers, Sarkis said.
“It doesn’t suit everybody,” said Sarkis. The buyer "is really going to be someone who appreciates this level of luxury. It’s a mansion in the sky.”